Author's Note:

I watched ParaNorman last month with my family (My Dad, Aunt, Uncle, Cousins, and Little Sisters) and completely fell in love with it. I was the only one out of my whole family that saw it coming when Mitch said he had a boyfriend. It was great and now I have a million ideas for stories! Read and review please!

Chapter One: A Different Beginning

A mother and a father divorcing aren't uncommon during these times. It isn't uncommon for their children to get caught in the middle either. No one in Bilthe Hollow knew the exact cause of the sudden split between the Babcocks. When they had gotten together nearly ten years ago everyone in town had thought Perry and Sandra were a perfect match.

That belief only seemed to grow when, three years later, they welcomed their first child into the world. Courtney Babcock was perfect in the eyes of her parents and they couldn't have been prouder. Everyone loved little Courtney and they couldn't wait to see her grow. They had seemed like the perfect little family.

Everyone had also assumed that the split had begun when Sandra learned she was pregnant with their second child, a son named Norman, some five years later. There might have been a shortage of income when she learned or they had only planned for one child. But no one knew that the split began after Norman's birth, shortly after he learned to talk.

Sandra Babcock knew that weird things tended to happen around the men born in her family. Her brother had been the last man in her family to gain the 'Gift', as her grandmother had called it. Her brother was an outcast in town, the unnatural freak, as he had an ability that everyone knew had been in the Prenderghast since the colonial days.

They were well known for talking to the dead.

Some of the Prenderghasts were well known paranormal investigators. Sandra's great-grandfather had actually put to rest a ghost who had been haunting the high-school for years. But her brother had caused everyone in town to believe the Prenderghasts were crazy, even though a few of her cousins from her aunt proved otherwise. She knew the moment that the doctor announced that the baby was a boy that he was going to have the same ability as her brother and cousins did.

Of course her husband didn't believe her. Every time she'd bring up the subject he would say the same thing. "They're just pretending to see the dead sweetheart."

She didn't truly believe him till Norman was born one stormy November night. Norman was premature by a little less than two months, but the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him, other than the fact that he was a little too small for their liking. Sandra and Perry automatically fell in love with the little boy the moment they saw him in the incubator. In their eyes Norman was perfect, and Sandra couldn't see any of the signs her brother or her cousins had before everyone knew that they could see the dead.

Little Courtney Louise Babcock was introduced to her little brother, Norman Harold Babcock, a few days later, when the doctors told them that they could take little Norman home. She had been a little shy and jealous at first, not understanding why her brother couldn't play with her and why he needed her mommy and daddy so much. They never seemed to have time to play with her. No one noticed her resentment until Norman was nearly four months old and Courtney had hidden the little one in a package that was heading for Grandma Babcock's house.

"I hate Norman!" she shouted when they found him a few minutes later. "He keeps me up all night and I never see you anymore because of him! Can't we just let Grandma keep him?"

It was that night that Norman actually slept through and, when he said his first word, he said 'Courtney.' Perry and Sandra made more of an effort to keep Courtney happy also.

Things fell apart after Norman said Courtney's name. He was suddenly blabbing to the walls and never seemed to notice his own family until they touched him or screamed his name. Sandra recognized all these signs at once, as her brother had the same ones. "Norman," She said one day while talking to the toddler, "can you tell Momma who you are talking too?"

He made some cooing noises before looking at the furthest corner of the room and shouted "Granpa!" Both Grandpa Babcock and Grandpa Prenderghast had died years before Norman had been born.

When Sandra told Perry he was enraged. He refused to believe that his son was one of the 'unnaturals' from her side of the family. His accusations got worse other the following weeks. He went from denial, to saying she had put a curse on Norman to punish him, and the final straw was when he denied that he was Norman's father and that she had cheated on his with another 'freak'.

That was when Sandra snapped. She could take anything that Perry had said before, but claiming that she cheated and that Norman wasn't his, that was unacceptable! "Is that what you think Perry?" she screamed at him, "You've had your chance to accept this and I'm through. We're over Perry! I'm taking Norman and leaving!"

Three weeks later, their marriage was over and the Babcocks were no longer a perfect family. Perry kept custody of Courtney and Sandra took Norman. She changed her name back to Prenderghast and changed Norman's as well, as that was part of the divorce agreements. Courtney and Norman both cried as they were separated and it broke Sandra's heart. She and Norman would see Courtney occasionally for birthdays and certain holidays, but Perry wanted nothing to do with Norman.

Norman constantly asked where his 'Dada' was. He was further confused when they moved in with Grandma Prenderghast, who was also sharing the house with his Grandma Babcock. "Don't you worry about Perry, Sandra." Grandma Babcock would say. "He's just being a hard ass. He'll turn around eventually and realize what he lost. I'm here for you and Norman."

But Perry never did look back. He re-married two years later, on Norman's birthday to be exact. With his new wife he had three children, two daughters and a son. He didn't show up to Norman's birthdays or Christmases. He wasn't there when Norman began pre-school or kindergarten. Eventually, Norman didn't even remember Perry. Whenever anyone asked who his father was his response was always the same. "He isn't my real daddy, but my Uncle Andy acts like one."

Sandra would smile when she saw her brother with Norman. His demeanor had completely changed. No longer was he the raving lunatic, he was a playful man who wasn't ashamed to play with toys and watch Bob the Builder. He was the same person Sandra had grown up with. He had even found a wife who shared his strange fascination with the paranormal.

She herself hadn't found anyone who could overlook her family's strange abilities. She had dated multiple men since her divorce, but it always ended the same. The moment they learned about her son or his paranormal abilities, they were gone. At least she still had Norman and Andy.

They were all she had left.